Well, we did it. The 12 Hours of Mesa Verde is done and I am absolutely cooked in the best possible way.
If you’ve been following along, you know I’ve been grinding through trainer sessions on Zwift trying to shake off months of rust and get my backside ready for a full day in the saddle. Spoiler: the saddle wins every time in the first hour, but eventually you stop noticing.
The race is a team relay. Our squad of four took turns hammering out laps on the 16-mile Phil’s World singletrack course from 7am to 7pm. Twelve hours. Sixteen miles per lap. It’s one of those events where the math sounds manageable until you’re actually out there doing it.
My personal goal going in was two laps minimum, three if the legs held up. I ended up doing 2 laps. The first one took me 1 hour and 38 minutes while the second was 1 hour and 42 minutes. As a team we did 7 laps with Jason, myself and Rob getting 2 laps in and Josh with one. No podium but grins all around.
The course was incredible: classic Southwest Colorado desert singletrack, sweeping views, just enough tech to keep things interesting without being punishing.
The team was fantastic. Thanks to Jason for getting us to sign up, Josh for bringing the laughs, and Rob for hauling add. There’s something special about a relay format, you’re suffering alone out on the course but you come back into camp and everyone is genuinely stoked for each other. It’s a vibe.
Camping at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds the night before was a good call. Woke up, had some coffee, watched the pre-dawn chaos of hundreds of people getting ready to ride bikes all day, and it hit me, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes life good.
Already thinking about next year.
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